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Did you know The Wizard of Oz, written by Frank Baum in 1900, was actually an allegory of 19th century farmers who felt abused by mega-wealthy multi-millionaires? Each of the main characters represented an oppressed group during the First Gilded Age: The Brainless Scarecrow represented poor, ignorant farmers; the Tinman, who lacked a heart, represented abused factory workers; the Timid Lion represented reformers who felt overwhelmed by the corruption of the era.
Now we have new characters, and newer tech, but with the same abusive practices.
We are beset by snake-oil salesmen every time we watch YouTube videos. If you watch the ads, every illness or human malady has a solution.
Some of you may remember how pink salt and other household products would take off pounds within weeks so you’d have to buy a whole new set of clothes. That scam lasted for four months, and is no longer advertised. Some new weight-loss diets, or injections, are now the current rage.
If you have hearing problems, hearing aids advertised for $79 promise the ability to separate background noise from the spoken word. If you check out the company by asking your search engine, it will tell you that most of the promises made are mainly hype, and not true.
All or part of what is being promised is a lie.
That’s also true in politics.
We’re told that our elections are filled with millions of noncitizens voting, or that the voting machines are compromised, or that the USPS has the right and duty to refuse to deliver mail-in ballots because of all the voting corruption. The DOJ demands voter lists from all 50 states and Washington D.C., even though, according to the Constitution, the executive branch plays no part in state and congressionally controlled elections.
Back in the first Gilded Age of the late 19th century and early 20th, it was Congress that was bought and paid for by Big Business and the uber wealthy.
That has become true again, only now, in the second Gilded Age, it’s billionaires instead of millionaires. Not only is Congress under the control of the wealthy, but now we have our president selling pardons to crooks, criminals, and sexual predators of children and who takes a bribe in the form of a 747 jet from a wealthy Arab nation. We have the Supreme Court which has refused to have a code of ethics. Several of the conservative majority have openly taken bribes from powerful and wealthy in return for favorable rulings.
The yellow-brick road in The Wizard of Oz was a symbol of the gold standard which benefitted the wealthy. Dorothy wore silver slippers in Baum’s book (the movie producers made her shoes ruby because they stood out more when the movie transitioned from black-and-white). Silver coinage was deemed to be the salvation of farmers, factory workers, and reformers, because it inflated the money supply and helped to pay their debts with inflated money.
Today, we have cryptocurrency from which a corrupt president and his corrupt sons are making billions. Our current president is our snake-oil salesman who lies about his accomplishments.
As Belle of the Ranch continues to repeat in her YouTube videos: “Trump is not a source” when he speaks. He represents the Wizard, who is trying to show he is all powerful, but who is in reality a wealthy snake-oil salesman who is weaker than Baum’s wizard. He’s also not hiding behind a curtain but is open and blatant about his crimes and corruption.
Trump tries to portray an aura of a golden age of perfection and testosterone-laden masculinity. He coats as much of the White House as he can with gold leaf, cheapening its look.
Instead of creating inflation favored by the farmers, industrial workers, and reformers in Baum’s book, inflation has become our bane in the second Gilded Age. The president uses his power to wage an expensive elective war against Iran, and by slapping a 50% tariff against Canada which American and Canadian consumers will pay for.
The Wizard of Oz became a bestseller because it resonated with the political issues of their Gilded Age. The book resonates today because we have a new class of oppressed that needs to realize that their own power is at their feet. Dorothy realized her silver slippers were her ticket home.
Our silver slippers are the midterm elections.
Richard Elfers is a columnist, a former Enumclaw City Council member and a Green River College professor.
